"Optane Memory" is what Intel calls their Optane powered caching SSDs. The Optane Memory Module itself is a PCIe Gen3x2 single-sided 2280 SSD. It comes in two capacities, 16GB and 32GB. The 16GB model is set to retail for $44, the 32GB model $77. Optane Memory is designed to operate in conjunction with Intel Z270 motherboards, 7th Gen Intel Core i7 "Kaby Lake" processors and Intel's Rapid Storage Technology.

Top Purchase Drivers for Desktops

Desktop users rate the top three factors for purchasing as:

Performance

Data security

Storage capacity

Intel envisions most users pairing Optane Memory with high-capacity mechanical hard drives to deliver an intelligent solution that massively boosts system responsiveness and keeps high capacity storage costs to a minimum.

Pairing Optane Memory with a mechanical HDD gives you the best of both worlds. Extremely high capacity at a low cost per terabyte and unmatched performance. Intelligent System Acceleration: Intel Optane memory is a smart and adaptable system accelerator that adjusts to your computing tasks, making everything you do faster, smoother, easier. Intelligent software automatically learns your computing behaviors to accelerate frequent tasks and customize your computer experience.

With the increased speed and responsiveness of Intel Optane memory in a 7th Gen Intel Core-based system, you can power on your computer up to twice as fast and improve overall system performance up to 28% faster with storage performance up to 14x faster. Applications like Microsoft Outlook will launch up to 6x faster, the Chrome browser launches up to 5x faster, games launch up to 18% faster, and levels load up to 58% faster.

If you want even better overall system performance, you can pair Optane Memory with a high-capacity SATA SSD and eliminate the SATA interface read bottleneck.

Earlier this month, TweakTown was invited to get some hands-on with Optane Memory at Intel's site in Folsom California, and we can tell you without reservation that Optane Memory is a game changer. As long as what you are doing is accelerated by Optane Memory, it will be much more responsive than anything NAND-flash based SSDs have to offer.

Why is it so responsive?

Breakthrough Responsiveness: Optimize your computer responsiveness from system boot to application launch. A computer with a 7th Gen Intel Core processor and Intel Optane memory delivers amazing speed and responsiveness so you can wake your computer instantly, search and find files faster, and save large files in a flash.

The main reason Optane Memory is a game changer is its unparalleled low queue depth random read performance. As shown above, almost all read transactions occur at QD1 or QD2. Random read operations will typically be 70% of the overall transactions executed when you use your computer, and as such, it is by far the most important performance metric. Sequential performance matters, but overall it is insignificant compared to low queue random read performance in an OS environment because in an OS environment virtually all data is random.

Random read performance at low queue depths is where conventional flash-based SSDs are at their weakest and where performance matters most. Optane Memory delivers 5-8x the random performance of flash-based SSDs at queue depths of 1-4. In fact, as the above graph illustrates, Optane Memory is essentially delivering full performance at QD3. This is why we are calling Optane Memory a game changer.

Reliability: Created by Intel, one of the industry's most trusted technology innovators, this new class of non-volatile memory is backed by over 30 years of memory expertise and global leadership in technology innovation and processor manufacturing.

The Intel Optane Memory module will be available for pre-order today, and available through component retailers on April 24th. Get in on the revolution and get you some Optane goodness!

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